13 June, 2015

05 June, 2015

Summer over took the last weeks of fall weather today. I spent some lovely stolen time on the beach last week wrapped up in wooly coat and thick blanket breathing the cold sea air and recovering from pneumonia.

Now I am off on the road again. Riding on my favourite Deutsche Bahn; whose popularity has suffered greatly because of numerous strikes the last months. The person making announcements over the speakers is noticeably cheery.

The greens of the landscape is bright and lively. They have yet to change to deeper summer tones. I am first off to a meditation retreat in a monastery surrounded by woods. So much looking forward to the stillness.

20 February, 2015

Recently I was walking though Hamburg awashed in political posters and billboards for their upcoming elections. All of them pretty normal: the visionary, the steadfast, the game changer.

Then I stumbled over this poster...

A portrait of female politician from the conservative party. She is starring out of a golden guided frame hanging on a white sterile tiled wall. A black - orange froufrou dog sitting on a plastic chair gazes at her.

Four years of working with what was on hand, which was never very much (though it was oddly all consuming). Running after this opportunity or trying to pursue that possibility; which seemed a smart thing to do under such circumstances, but often enough didn't pan out. Running in circles. Hitting walls. Jumping over obstacles. Taking leaps of faith. Keeping my nose to the ground. Putting in the hours.

More than all of this, what counted were the kind and generous people on the way. Those that mentored. Those who quietly lead by example. The nay-sayers, who questioned my ideas and helped me test my resolve. The cheerleaders who bolstered me in those times of desperation. The ones who blindly believed in my abilities. Those whose lives touched me. Those who listened to my fears and aspirations. What a rowdy tribe.

Now, four years into my self-employment I have this amazing feeling of being the navigator of my own journey. To celebrate this, I am on the road visiting family and friends and doing business in between. Sweet! Who would have thought...

08 February, 2015

Hard to believe it folks, I have
been writing this blog for the last 10 years. The last 3 or 4 years have been a
challenge. Not because I don't want to be here, but just time wise, inspiration
wise, and energy wise it's been a struggle. Becoming self-employed at 54 years
old is not an easy task.

Sure do not want to complain since
work wise things are stable and even growing. Big feelings of gratitude for
that.

My kids asked recently
why I continue with this blog. It is not an easy thing to explain. Part of it
is building upon a body of work I want to leave them and their children. It is
a very modest way to sharing thoughts with those of you who still read it
because I still get so much from reading your blogs. In this era of twitter, it
also seems old fashion to write in complete sentences and develop ideas in a
meandering way.

Thank you for all the considerate
words you place in the internet and the kindness you give me for reading this
blog.

09 December, 2014

16 November, 2014

Last June I had
the great pleasure to spend a few days in Paris with two deardear friends from
high school. Meeting thenm, one flying in from Montreal and the other from Goa,
in this amazing city was a fantastic experience. Each day we made discoveries.
Many of them were fun (being part of the crowds of people watching the Paris
Open on live stream at the Eiffel Tower), inspiring (Rodin’s garden) and some even
made my brain go into overdrive (a Gregorian chant sung in the Notre Dame
Cathedral during an evening concert).

One discovery was as
provocative as it was disturbing. The above is a photo of a window display in a
chic clothes store. It shows purses made from frogs. Posing the question what
can you do with the rest of the frog who is killed for l'escargot?

This is a long way
of presenting the topic of "circular economy" and doesn't quite do it
justice. So, please please watchthis paneldiscussion,
"Can materials innovation save the world?" It is well worth taking
the 30 minutes and let your brain go on overdrive. The people in the panel persuasively
argue how the greatness of materials innovation lies in its simplicity.

09 November, 2014

It is 25 years since the Berlin Wall came down. A momentous occasion that none of us who were there willever forget. There have been perhaps five such occasions in my life like this: as a child living in California – President Kennedy’s assassination and the moon landing, as an adult living in Germany – the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela’ release from prison, and 911.

My first reaction to all of these moments was one of disbelief and trepidation. Knowing I was a witness to living history. Not knowing what it all meant. It took hours and days for my brain to assimilate the enormity of the occasions.

Whether tragic or joyful, each of these
events radically changed my sense of what is possible.

When the Berlin Wall fell, everyone living in
East and West Germany was immediately affected. Lübeck, where I lived, was a “border”
city and instantly flooded with East Germans. The disbelief and trepidation we all experienced
seeing the first cars coming over the boarder was quickly replaced by elation.

So much has changed in the last 25 years, some good, and some bad. I would not
have missed one moment of it though. I was a witness and participant in
all the ensuing events.

07 November, 2014

The
good thing about the internet is the people you meet along the way. More
particularly, the people you would not normally meet and once you have met
them, they marvelously expand your perspectives on life and living. I am
not talking just about the online friends who I've met through blogging or
other social networks. Those friendships would take many posts to explore and
explain.

Today I just wanted to mention one person, Alys Fowler, whose videos
have filled my life with all sorts of joy and imaginings about how living a life
with a garden could be.

(Sorry, if this video posting is a copyright fauxpas, I can't find another possibility.)

The greatest
gardeners I have known have been my paternal grandfather, my sister, my friends
Maria, Sonja, Tine and Andrea. Even though I have rubbed shoulders with numerous
master gardeners, I do not have a green thumb at all. Actually, I am a couch
potato gardener and will most likely remain so.

Yet,
they taught me many lessons about gardening, which can be used well in life.
Lessons about patience, planning, beauty, hard work, modesty, humility, artful endeavor,
and a feeling an underlying tenderness about all of their plants. To Alys and my
gardening family and friends, thank you so very much.

28 October, 2014

26 October, 2014

Yesterday, a friend and I went to
visit my daughter at her university a few hours drive from here. She started
there in August and this is the first time we have been there since delivering
her to the university gates during orientation week.My friend rented a
chic car to transport us and a huge amount of "goodies" for my
daughter and a few gifts for her newly acquired friends. The absurdity of
filling up a whole station wagon full of produce my daughter could, with a bit
of effort, buy herself, was not lost on me.Thirty-two years
ago, when I first came to Germany, I stayed for a few months at a friend's
parents place. Their grown son, who was only a few years younger than I, came
home every weekend from where he was studying and let himself be pampered by
his mom.She'd make him all
his favourite dishes to eat, bake him cakes, and do his dirty laundry. By the
time he was ready to leave on Sunday evening, she'd also have this care package
for him to carry him over during the week.Needless to say, my feminist emancipated
soul was aghast. It took all of my muster not to make scathing comments to
him as he was leaving the door with his duffle bag filled with freshly laundry clothes
and the “muesli package” tucked under his arm. (I was after all a beholding
guest in his parents’ home.)I could only cope with the
situation by saying to myself, “I will never indulge in such a wanton act of
pampering once my children leave home! No, I will honour their well-earned
independence. I will not practice such blatant and, let’s face it, easy appreciation-seeking
practices. I’ll stand tall.”Ha! The joke is on me. Yesterday
proved I am perfectly capable of ridiculous levels of pampering. You know what?
It was fun!

As an engineer, every time a new technology is developed I take some convincing as to its "worth", as well as it's potential for meaningful, appropriate usage. Up until now 3D printers were interesting and I could intellectually see their potential, but emotionally my heart didn't flip. This video outlining the social experiment Touchable Memories made this connect for the first time.

It is not necessary for a technology to make some sort of socially sentimental connect in order for it to be socially relavant, but it sure does help. There are some amazing applications for this technology. It's odd it has taken me this long to catch up.

13 October, 2014

Just wanted to share this video.
Don't know what is more stunning the idea of what the surfers are doing out on
the water or the way the film was put together.

It's been far too
long since the last time I wrote a post. This year has been marvelously crazily
busy. What a blessing! What a challenge! (And I am not substituting
"challenge" for "having problems".)

Being
self-employed at my age is fascinating and sometimes quite frightening. I
worked for nearly 30 years in international corporations or large universities.
The transition to one-woman-show has been educational. Who would have thought
it possible.

Our children are
both off studying now. Nomad Son is doing a co-op program in computer sciences.
Nature Girl is off studying international relations. It is amazing to stand on
the periphery and watch them stride on.

14 July, 2014

The final game last night of the WM was wonderful to watch. For all you non-pulsed scoccer fans, it must seem an odd thing to say, since the score was 0:0 at the end of the normal playing time. Nevertheless, what a game!

(note: to google... if I am doing something wrong by placing the google doodle in this post today, please be tolerant. It was done in a sleep deprived state of jubilation.)